Potential impacts of horizontal gene transfer on human health and physiology and how anthropogenic activity can affect it

Abstract

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is widespread among prokaryotes driving their evolution. In this paper, we review the potential impact in humans of the HGT between prokaryotes living in close association with humans in two scenarios: horizontal transfer in human microbiomes and transfer between microbes living in human managed environments. Although our vision is focused on the possible impact of these transfers in the propagation of antibiotic resistance genes or pathogenicity determinants, we also discuss possible human physiological adaptations via gene transfer between resident and occasional bacteria in the human microbiome.

Global evolutionary epidemiology and resistome dynamics of Citrobacter species, Enterobacter hormaechei, Klebsiella variicola, and Proteeae clones

“…Hence, these opportunistic pathogens demand more attention than they have been given hitherto as the rich resistome repertoire (Supporting Information Table S4) identified in their genomes makes them reservoirs of ARGs (Yang et al ., 2017; Asante and Osei Sekyere, 2019; Decano et al ., 2019; Decano et al ., 2020). Moreover, being intestinal denizens and commensals, they can easily share these ARGs with facultative and obligate pathogens of humans and animals (Anderson and Seifert, 2011; Lerner et al ., 2017; Boto et al ., 2019; Osei Sekyere et al ., 2020b). Further, their presence on plants and the environment further suggests that they can share their ARGs with food‐borne and water‐borne pathogens (Anderson and Seifert, 2011; Lerner et al ., 2017; Boto et al ., 2019).…”

“…Moreover, being intestinal denizens and commensals, they can easily share these ARGs with facultative and obligate pathogens of humans and animals (Anderson and Seifert, 2011; Lerner et al ., 2017; Boto et al ., 2019; Osei Sekyere et al ., 2020b). Further, their presence on plants and the environment further suggests that they can share their ARGs with food‐borne and water‐borne pathogens (Anderson and Seifert, 2011; Lerner et al ., 2017; Boto et al ., 2019). Notably, the E. xiangfangensis strains found in rice from India had very few ARGs, albeit a few had multiple ARGs (Fig.…”

Molecular mechanisms of Shigella effector proteins: a common pathogen among diarrheic pediatric population

“…Plasmids and the mobile genetic elements can be transferred through conjugative machinery. Bacteria in the gut environment have suitable conditions such as stable temperature, sufficient and permanent food resources, fixed physiological conditions, a large number of phages and bacterial cells, and plenty of opportunities for horizontal gene exchange [ 228 ]. It is revealed that the frequency of HGT in infants’ meconium and early fecal samples is higher than that in adults [ 229 ].…”

Putative mobilized colistin resistance genes in the human gut microbiome

“…Understanding the human resistome in hospitalized and non-hospitalized populations is essential because the commensal microbiota can host ARGs and transfer it from and to pathogenic bacteria through horizontal gene transfer (HGT) [12], e.g., during an infection. In addition, HGT can also play a role in ARG mobilization to environmental communities by water and soil contamination [13] or the food we ingest [14,15]. The gut microbiome is of particular interest in the investigation of ARGs in the human microbiota since it is the largest, most diverse [16], highly exposed and affected by the intake of antibiotics.…”